Section 3: What are the methods we use in analyzing the (self)-representation of migration?

In this third section of the unit we turn our attention to providing you with the tools required when analyzing how migration is represented.

Growing interest in visual media imagery and culture is also reflected in the expansion of visual methods of analysis and their application across diverse fields. Migration research, in particular, has seen a significant increase in the use of visual methods in recent years (Smets 2024, 153).

Among the most prominent methods of visual analysis, researchers highlight the following approaches:

• content analysis;
• discourse analysis;
• visual framing analysis;
• visual rhetoric analysis;
• semiotic analysis;
• participatory or collaborative visual research (Smets 2024, Ball 2024).

3.1 A general approach to image analysis

Before investigating the specifics of the methods mentioned above, it is important to establish a general approach to image analysis. When analyzing the political significance of images (still or moving), Bleiker (2015), drawing on Rose’s visual methodology, proposes a three-step framework for guiding image analysis:

1. production of image
2. content of image itself
3. reception of the image by various audiences

Each step addresses different questions and requires distinct analytical methods:

1. The production step focuses on understanding how images are created, the framing and selection involved, and the political and ethical consequences of these choices. Key questions include:
   1. Where was the image created?
   2. Who created it?
   3. How was it composed, framed, or captured?
   4. What is its official purpose and potential socio-political impact?

At this stage, interviews and (digital)ethnographic methods are useful for exploring the technical aspects and context of image production.

2. The content step aims to understand the image itself through discourse, semiotic, framing, and content analysis. At this stage, it is essential to analyze how images interact with the broader socio-political and cultural context in which they gain meaning, as well as how they interact with other elements of verbal and non-verbal communication. Questions to explore include:
   1. Who is represented, and how?
   2. What are the other elements of the image?
   3. How do they combine to shape its meaning?
   4. What visual themes, frames, tropes, and symbols are present?
   5. What is the composition of the image?
   6. What genre does the image belong to?
3. The reception step involves examining how images are received, interpreted, and ascribed meaning by audiences. Methods such as interviews, surveys, and observations are used to ask:
   1. Who is the intended audience?
   2. How has the image been circulated?
   3. How do different groups interpret it?

At this stage, various quantitative methods are also applied to analyze the reactions to the image, including the impact of the image on audiences. This may involve analyzing metrics such as shares, likes, comments, and other forms of engagement across social media or digital platforms.

These quantitative methods help assess how widely an image has been disseminated and how different audiences interact with it, providing valuable insights into its reception and impact. (Bleiker 2015, 877-878).

In the following sections we’ll look at each method in more detail.

3.2 Content analysis

Content analysis is a systematic and objective method for analyzing visual data by quantifying its content based on predefined categories or themes. It focuses on the formal structure of images, rather than their broader socio-political context or interpretative meaning (Ball 2024).

According to Bell (2000, 13) content analysis is defined as “an empirical (observational) and objective procedure for quantifying recorded ‘audio-visual’ (including verbal) representation using reliable, explicitly defined categories (‘values’ or independent ‘variables’).” [author’s emphasis]

Its focus on formal structure of images makes it an effective method for tracking visual trends over time, assessing recurrent themes, and identifying the presence or absence of particular elements in large visual datasets.

The method relies on the development of clear coding frameworks, allowing researchers to classify and measure specific attributes of images with precision (Ball 2024, 287). Digital tools facilitate content analysis by automating data coding, categorization, and visualization.

One widely used software is MAXQDA, which supports both qualitative and quantitative content analysis of visual and textual data.

3.3 Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is a method used to examine how images, symbols, and visual elements construct meaning through culturally embedded signs and codes.

Unlike content analysis, which focuses on the explicit elements present in an image, semiotic analysis explores the implicit and suggested meanings embedded within visual representations (Martikainen and Sakki, 2021).

This method is particularly relevant for migration research, as it reveals how images contribute to the social construction of migrants, shaping narratives of inclusion, exclusion, victimhood, or threat.

According to Gillian Rose (2016, 69), semiotic analysis connects the meaning of images with broader cultural systems, making it possible to understand how specific visual representations reinforce dominant ideologies.

Images do not exist in isolation; they are embedded in interrelated systems of meaning, influenced by historical, political, and social contexts.

A key aspect of semiotic analysis, as formulated by Ferdinand de Saussure (2011), is the distinction between the signifier (the image or sound representing an object) and the signified (the concept it evokes).^[1]

Roland Barthes’ (1977) concept of denotation and connotation further expands this analysis by demonstrating how an image carries both an explicit (denotative) and an implicit (connotative) message.

The symbolic construction of migration often relies on binary oppositions, such as ‘safe’ vs. ‘dangerous’, ‘native’ vs. ‘foreigner’, or ‘deserving refugee’ vs. ‘economic migrant’, shaping public perception and responses (Orgad, 2012).

Additionally, the use of polysemy – where an image allows for multiple, sometimes conflicting, interpretations – highlights the role of ideological predispositions in shaping how audiences perceive migration (Orgad, 2012, p. 33).

The inclusion of text, music, or accompanying narratives in visual media, such as political posters or awareness campaigns, further influences these interpretations by framing migrants within specific discourses (Ball 2024, 289).

Semiotic analysis, therefore, provides a crucial tool for understanding the deeper symbolic and ideological structures that underpin visual representations of migration.

3.4 Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis is key in exploring how the representations of migration are constructed, interpreted, and contested within the broader socio-political context. Discourse analysis considers not only the content of the images but also the power relations, ideologies, and social narratives embedded in them.

It explores the construction of meaning in visual data through the lens of discursive practices, power hierarchies and norms imposed by society to explain mechanisms of legitimation and construction of in/visibility of certain groups (Smets 2024).

Wintzer (2019) emphasizes the significance of image analysis within a larger discursive framework, arguing that visualization is not merely a descriptive tool but an active practice in constructing reality. Rather than simply depicting a verbal statement, visual representations shape the meaning of what is seen by establishing relationships and hierarchies between elements.

As a result, images function as more than just passive reflections of reality; they participate in sociocultural negotiation processes that structure and regulate social interactions.

In the case of migration studies, discourse analysis helps to reveal how visual representations contribute to framing migrants, refugee crises, and border politics, influencing both public opinion and political decision-making.

Multimodal discourse analysis extends this approach by considering the interaction of multiple semiotic modes, such as visual, linguistic, and spatial, in the creation of meaning.

In the case of migration, multimodal discourse analysis allows researchers to examine how images, texts, gestures, spaces, and sounds work together to construct complex narratives about migration.

3.5 Visual rhetoric analysis

Visual rhetorical analysis is interested in how different visual artifacts are designed and how they are distributed and performed for specific audiences (Gries 2020, 383).

This approach focuses on both content and form to analyze how images communicate messages and persuade viewers. It considers various visual elements—such as color, contrast, light, composition — and their role in shaping meaning of the image.

It also explores how aspects like framing, focus and perspective influence interpretation, emphasizing the role of distance and proximity in constructing emotional or ideological perspectives.

One critical application of visual rhetorical analysis is the study of media representations of refugees, where rhetorical mechanisms play a central role in shaping public perception (Chouliaraki and Stolic 2017).

These representations often rely on othering and symbolic bordering, which establish a perceived distance between ‘us’ and ‘them’.

These mechanisms, widely analyzed in scholarly literature, illustrate how visual imagery can either dehumanize or humanize refugees, shaping dominant narratives around migration.

The analysis of a combination of these visual strategies in different socio-political contexts can help better understand the way refugees are perceived in certain communities.

3.6 Framing analysis

Framing refers to the process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them more salient in order to “promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation” (Entman 1993, 52).

It plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of certain issues, including migration, by emphasizing specific elements while downplaying others.

Traditionally, framing studies have focused on how mass media construct dominant narratives, often reinforcing particular perspectives and ideological biases (Vliegenthart 2012). However, recent scholarship also highlights the evolving role of visual framing of migration in social media and political discourse (Radojevic et al. 2020).

Frames are generally categorized into generic and issue-specific types (De Vreese et al. 2001).

• Generic frames, such as conflict, human interest, economic impact, responsibility, and morality frames, are broadly applicable across various topics and persist over time, regardless of cultural or political context (De Vreese et al. 2001, 108).
• Issue specific frames are more varied and largely depend on the analyzed media or political context (de Vreese 2005).

Within the generic frames are:

• The conflict frame aims at capturing the interest of the audience through emphasizing conflict between different actors, ethnic groups, communities or countries.
• The human-interest frame represents the events through the lens of human emotions, giving the issue a ‘human face’ and “refers to an effort to personalize the news, dramatize or ‘emotionalize’ the news, in order to capture and retain audience interest” (Semetko and Valkenburg 2000, 95).
• The economic frame is defined as a process of putting forward the economic consequences of the events, while reporting or mediating them.
• The morality frame shapes the event or issue in the context of moral values and societal, religious or cultural norms (Semetko and Valkenburg 2000, 96).

In migration discourse, generic and issue-specific frames may focus on crisis and emergency narratives, border security, integration and multiculturalism, or human rights and asylum protection.

The dominance of certain frames over others has direct consequences on our understanding of migration and migrants within and beyond host communities.

3.7 Review

In Section 3, our focus has been on providing you with the tools and methods for analyzing the representation of migration, particularly through visual media. Various methods of visual analysis have been introduced, including content analysis, discourse analysis, visual framing analysis, visual rhetoric analysis, and semiotic analysis.

Each method was elaborated upon to offer insights into how it can be applied to the analysis of migration imagery, with an emphasis on understanding the deeper meanings and implications of visual representations.

The following exercises will help to reinforce the concepts covered in this section and provide opportunities to apply these methods to other examples of migration imagery.